Tag Archives: ABC Blackish

Last night Blackish tackled the name game. When you see a name like Shenqua, Deetranada, Shawntae or Devonte what do you think? Who do you envision? You see black people. To some degree the name is a type of branding. When these children enter the work world and an employer sees identical resumes from Mary versus Deetranada who do you think will get the call? So last night the fictional Johnson family debated naming their yet to be born son Devonte. Some in the family characterized the name as “ghetto” while others in the family said it was a celebration of their ethnicity. What do you think? Share your thoughts.

Last night Blackish took on police brutality. The episode featured a multi-generational conversation between the family members. Each group looking at the violence through their own lens. At times the conversation was brutal, poignant and even funny. If you have not seen the episode it is worth viewing. One of the incidents they discussed was President Obama’s first inauguration. During the parade he and the First Lady got out of the car and walked part of the way. They said they remembered fearing for his life as he boldly walked the route, and I remember having that same discussion with my husband that day. This shared sense of fear might not have been shared by everyone but it was shared by many. During the evening on Twitter I saw #blackishracist and that was so off base. Discussing racism is not racist, but ignoring it can be. It was a tough episode to watch but so worth it.

I just finished watching Blackish and it becomes just another sitcom to take a shot at the “black church”. The black church is always depicted with a choir that sings a little too long, a pastor that preached more from the book of cliches than the Bible, and the ushers who are more secret police than greeters. Speaking in tongues is often mocked. It’s viewed as the home of the judgmental adorned in big hats for the women and loud vivid colored suits for the men. It is not seen as redemptive it is seen as comedic, but one wonders when was the last time one of the writers actually set foot in a black church? Is the depiction based on hearsay or have they actually had their own black church experience? Share your thoughts.

I watched the ABC new sitcom Blackish last night. Some have compared the show to the old Cosby show but there is no comparision. Sure both shows feature upwardly mobile black people but that is where the similarities end. The Cosby show was simply a funny show about a family who happened to be black. they were not ringing their hands questioning their success. They worked hard to get what they had and they enjoyed it. From the title of the show you know they will be questioning their identity and that is what they did last night. It will be interesting to see where they go with this theme over the season. Did you see the how? Share your thoughts.

I watched this clip of the ABC sitcom Blackish. The show is slated for this fall. The black family is successful but the premise seems to suggest that they have lost their blackness. This begs the question “what is black?” Do you become less black when your zip code changes or when your salary goes into the six figures? The Cosby Show was probably the last sitcom to depict black people as achievers, and even then some questioned whether that kind of black family really existed. Newsflash…there are still plenty of black families with a mother, father and 2 kids. There are plenty of success stories within the black race and contrary to sitcom thinking they have not lost their blackness.